Black drongo

Dicrurus macrocercus

Photo by Robin Newlin (Birds Korea)

Common name:

black drongo (en); drongo-real (pt); drongo royal (fr); drongo real (es); königsdrongo (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Dicruridae

Range:

This Asian species is found in much of tropical southern Asia, from south-west Iran, through India and Sri Lanka and east to southern China and Indonesia.

Size:

Black drongos are 26-32 cm long and weigh 40-60 g.

Habitat:

They are mostly found in open country, namely in savanna, agricultural fields and urban habitats.

Diet:

These birds are mostly aerial predators of insects but can also glean from the ground or off the vegetation. They tale a variety of insects including grasshoppers, cicadas, termites, wasps, bees, ants, moths, beetles and dragonflies. They occasionally hunt small birds, reptiles, bats and even fish and are also known to visit flowers of trees such as Erythrina and Bombax for nectar.

Breeding:

They mostly breed in February-August. The nest is a cup made with a thin layer of sticks placed in the fork of branch, and is built by both the male and female. The female lays 3-4 pale cream to red eggs which are incubated by both parents for 14-15 days. The chicks fledge 16-17 days after hatching , but continue to be fed and protected by the parents for another months.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and, although the global population size has not been quantified, the species is described as generally common throughout the Indian Subcontinent, although uncommon in Bhutan. This species is not considered threatened at present.